CHAPTER ONE
Chapter One
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Laird Andrew MacLaaran was extremely proud at the birth of his one and only son, Robert, in the year of Our Lord, 1202�� 
His wife Angela was recovering comfortably in their temporary cottage just East of the now bustling little village. The new castle foundations were complete and they were making rapid progress on the heavy stone walls��. 
In the year 1200, Andrew had purchased the huge piece of land from an aging Scot named Laird Matthew MacDougal, in spite of objections from Laird Mathew's many sons. Mathew was discouraged because his sons would rather hunt and trap in the forest, or dally with the village harlots, than farm the rich soil and expand the family fortune.
Laird Andrew recognized the true value of this Scottish Highland area and invested his family fortune in erecting the castle. He could foresee the heavy forest stripped in carefully selected areas, the lumber used in the erection of the castle and also sold as the village expanded. He envisioned farmers buying or renting parcels of land and producing the crops that would feed a rapidly growing community. He saw horses, sheep and cattle grazing in the fields.
Andrew had already renamed the village as MacLaaran, to match his new castle. His new son would inherit this marvelous property and life would be wonderful. Of course, things never work out exactly as planned.
As he sat there, smoking his pipe and watching Angela breast feed their new son, his mind wandered back in time.
They had tried and failed for five years to produce an heir. The loss of his previous daughter, JoAnna, haunted him and he hoped his young new wife Angela could give him a son.
That was one of the reasons Andrew decided to purchase this land and move, hoping that a new location might put new life in what had become a tired relationship. Angela was ten years younger, full of life, but for some reason she could never seem to conceive and provide the heir Andrew so desperately wanted.
Andrew had left Angela behind with her parents while he began hiring carpenters and stone masons to build their temporary cottage and start the foundations for his new castle. It was shortly after Angela finally arrived that the gypsies showed up.
Ian, the leader of the gypsies, was an extremely capable sort and Andrew hired him and his followers to assist with the erection of the castle. Gradually, a bond developed between them and Andrew learned that Ian was actually a MacLeod�. 
It turned out that Ian had been driven into hiding after being caught having a torrid affair with an English nobleman's wife. He barely escaped with his life, headed north, joined this band of traveling gypsies and eventually became their leader.
The two men were sitting in the village tavern late one evening drinking scotch, after another long day supervising the erection of the castle walls. After a few too many, the conversation somehow drifted into Andrew's desire for a male heir.
Ian said that one of his gypsy ladies claimed to be able to produce potions that could increase fertility. The idea intrigued Andrew, of course, and he said he would pay what ever it cost for Ian to provide him with these potions. Ian smiled and said that he would see what he could do.
The gypsy lady met with them a few days later with two potions, a blue powder and a red powder. She explained in detail what Laird Andrew must do. First, she needed to know about Lady Angela's monthly schedule, which days she was not, shall we discreetly say, "available".
Andrew was a bit embarrassed, but finally realized what the gypsy meant. They discussed the timing in detail and formatted a plan. The gypsy said it was very important that Angela not be aware of the plan, that female response needed to be totally unplanned for the potions to work.
So Andrew set up a special dinner, a private celebration of sorts, with only the two of them left in the cottage after the servants served the meal. Before dinner, Andrew prepared the wine, secretly adding the blue powder in his wine glass and the red powder in hers as instructed.
They never made it through dinner. They had finished the wine and had barely touched the venison when Angela rose from her chair, her face flushed, her eyes narrow slits as she walked around the table.
She motioned him to turn in his chair, lifted her skirts and straddled his lap. Andrew remembered opening the laces of her gown and feasting his eyes on one breast, the extremely erect nipple already jutting out and inviting his touch. The red potion was obviously working.
The last thing he remembered was suckling her breast. He awoke the next morning in bed with her. They were totally naked and she had a smile on her face. It took several nudges to awaken her.
He mumbled something about not remembering what had happened last night. She assured him that she had enjoyed the evening immensely and with a knowing smile she held up two fingers. Obviously the blue potion must have worked, too.
He smiled over at her as his mind returned to the present. Sad that he apparently couldn't remember the good parts, probably due to that powder. But the important thing was it worked. He had a son!!!
To Be Continued